PATNA: At least 46 people, including 37 children, have drowned during the Jitiya Parv Hindu festival in Bihar state of India, local officials reported on Thursday. The drownings occurred across 15 districts as devotees participated in ritual bathing in rivers and ponds swollen by flooding.
According to an official of the Bihar Disaster Management Department, many festival-goers ignored the hazardous water levels, which were dangerously elevated due to ongoing monsoon rains.
“People ignored dangerous water levels in rivers as well as ponds while bathing to celebrate this festival,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
The drownings began on Tuesday and continued over the following days, prompting urgent recovery efforts for three additional bodies that remain unaccounted for.
The Jitiya Parv festival, celebrated by mothers praying for their children’s wellbeing, extends over several days and is also observed in neighboring states like Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, as well as in parts of southern Nepal.
The Bihar state government has pledged compensation to the families of the victims. This year’s calamity follows a similar pattern; last year, local reports indicated that 22 people drowned in just a 24-hour period during the same festival.
Deadly incidents during religious festivals are not uncommon in India, where millions gather for various celebrations. In a recent incident, 116 people lost their lives in July during an overcrowded Hindu religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh.
India’s monsoon season, which spans from June to September, is crucial for agriculture but also brings severe flooding and landslides. In July, more than 200 people were killed in Kerala due to landslides triggered by relentless downpours that buried tea plantations under tons of mud.
